Welcome to Cazadero
When looking for a quiet and relaxing place, yet a place with a lot to do, Cazadero is a great town to check out. Located in western Sonoma County, Cazadero has a population of around 350 people, and it’s located 118 feet above sea level. This gives it a mild winter and comfortable summer. With lots of trees, many creeks and a rural atmosphere, Cazadero is a nature lover’s paradise, and for this reason, among many others, people love Cazadero.
Lay of the land
Nearby towns include Duncan Mils, Villa Grande, Guerneville, The Sea Ranch and many other quaint and interesting towns. Downtown is not much to see, but there are a couple of churches, a hardware store, an auto repair garage and the Cazadero Volunteer Fire Department. However, residents prefer it this way, and that is why Cazadero has retained its charm, even while other towns and cities he city in the area have succumbed to too much growth. With plenty of creeks and easy access to larger towns and city, Cazadero is in a great location.
Transportation
There is a price to pay for this beauty, and one price people have to pay is that they can’t rely on any public transportation. As a rural area, residents will have to get used to getting in their cars and driving to larger towns and cities. But, since there are a few local businesses, people don’t have to drive far for everything. While a bit of a drive, one can hop on Highway 1 or Highway 101, where it’s easy to reach Napa, San Francisco, the ocean and many interesting places along the way. With little traffic and a laid-back atmosphere, it’s certainly not stressful to take a drive, whether it’s long or short. Not only that, the scenery is so beautiful that any drive one takes is probably going to be relaxing and interesting.
Local Highlights
The draw to Cazadero is the fact that one can get away from it all. The Pacific Ocean is only 10 miles away; the Sonoma Coast and the mouth of the Russian River are both in close proximity as well. This means that a local resident can pretty much do what he or she wants. A visit to the ocean is not out of the question, and one can even visit the California coast and go to a winery in the same day.
One often overlooked benefit of living in Cazadero is the flora and fauna. Since it’s heavily forested, one can enjoy oaks and bay trees, and of course, Redwoods. Birders who love to hang out in the woods and track birds will love to check out the Common Raven, Steller’s Jay, and Northern Flickers, among many other birds. There are plenty of mountain lions, deer, bobcat, raccoons, foxes and opossums. The area is also home to plenty of other animals, including frog and toad species, which love the wet landscape and vernal pools. When digging deeper, it’s easy to find freshwater shrimp and crawfish.
Since winters are mild and summers are not hot, people love to hang out in Cazadero. With the great weather comes visitors, and there are numerous camps including the Cazadero Performing Arts Camp, BSA Camp and Royaneh. With 85-inches a rain of year, it’s the second wettest area in California, but this has benefits. With so much water, the town rarely experiences drought, and it doesn’t get brown and dreary like other cities and towns in the California desert. Winter brings most of the moisture, and storms are usually powerful and quick, which enables people to hunker down for a day or two.
